The Christmas Film in Gothenburg – video

There seems to be a trend in Europe for painting public buildings with light shows, so we were pleased to find that Gothenburg hosts a Julfilm or Christmas film projected onto the facade of the Museum of Art. We were in Gothenburg in West Sweden for a short break in December to get into the Christmas spirit and were hoping to enjoy a couple of free Christmas activities at either end of the main thoroughfare of Kongsportsavenyn or Avenyn – The Avenue for short.

On the facade of the Gothenburg Museum of Art or Konstmuseum a Christmas film is projected after dark throughout December and at the appointed time we walked down the Avenue with trees garlanded in blue lights and light-painted buildings. The snow that had covered the airport runway when our SAS flight touched down had melted away, giving way to rain and wind and we had to give up on our umbrellas as they kept being blown inside out. Guy managed to embarrassingly destroy two umbrellas this way that had been kindly lent to us by our Hotel Elite Plaza – oops!

I hope you enjoy the video below of the Christmas film at the Museum of Art in Gothenburg

If you can’t see the video above of the Gothenburg Christmas Film, please view it on my blog here

As we reached the Museum of Art, crowd of people had gathered, sheltering sensibly under the overhanging roof of the building to one side to watch the film, while I bravely set up my camera and tripod right in front of the facade where I hoped to get a good view of the light show. We watched while Chinese dancers twirled, eighteenth century characters got off the tram to serenade us and aliens landed from the space ship – all in good Swedish fun.

I imagine that the two cartoon figures towards the end are politicians or public figures that are being poked fun at – perhaps you can enlighten me if you are from Gothenburg. If the film is a bit shaky in places it’s because the gusts of wind kept threatening to blow me over!

At the other end of the Avenue at Bältesspännarparken the winter wonderland of amusements was looking decidedly damp and the performance of the ‘Singing Christmas tree’ had been cancelled. I was rather disappointed, as I thought that this choir performing Christmas songs, dressed in green coats and red santa hats standing on a triangular stand (hence the Christmas tree name) sounded very jolly and just the thing to listen to while beating off the cold with a glass of steaming Glögg.

Visitor Information for Gothenburg or Göteborg

• The local tourism site Göteborg.com is full of information on the best things to see and do
• For information on West Sweden visit the West Sweden Tourism site or follow them on Twitter @WestSwedenTB or on their Facebook page and you will find their blog at ExploreWestSweden.com
• Another useful site for all things Gothenburg is I Love Göteborg
• If you plan to do a lot of sightseeing it’s worth getting the Gothenburg City Card which will allow you entrance to all the major attractions as well as public transport. Look out for the deals that some hotels offer that include a Gothenburg Card with the hotel booking.
• We stayed at the elegant 5 star hotel, Elite Plaza Hotel which is right in the centre of Gothenburg in the Inom Vallgraven district and walking distance from most things.
• We flew to Gothenburg from London Heathrow with Scandinavian Airlines, who have flights to Gothenburg daily from London into Gothenburg Landvetter airport.

www.flickr.com heatheronhertravels’ Sweden – Gothenburg photoset

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There’s much more to Munich than the beer!

Think Munich and most European’s will quote their favourite beer (or rather bier) of the moment. This fun city – Germany’s largest – is renowned the world over for its hops-ridden hospitality over two and a half weeks every year. Indeed even on touchdown at Munich Airport you’ll find a year-round beer garden courtesy of Lufthansa (just in case, for a second you landed on Deutsch soil and forgot).

But of course there’s so, so, so much more to Munich than Oktoberfest. For a start there are the museums.

Museums in Munich

The new Zentrum Neue Technologien at The Deutsches Museum will appeal to nano and bio-tech lovers everywhere. There are fabulous flying bombs in the aviation room for a start. And for those who like to be more in control of their exhibits, the latest in touch screen demos.

Kids will love the Children’s World with more than 1001 toys and activities to keep them amused for more than their customary half an hour while transportation fans – especially flying buffs – will practically drool at the sight of the first-ever engine plane produced by the Wright brothers no less.

Art and entertainment

Fancy some light entertainment? And we mean light. The acrobats and trapeze artists at the Variete-Theater on Maximilianstrasse use their surrounds as a vertical playground. It’s breathtaking, funny, fascinating and two hours 30 minutes well spent.

The artistic creations of 20^th and 21^st century masters such as Damien Hirst and Andy Warhol can be found in Munich’s Kunstareal.

Fairytale Castles and more

Stay in a real life fairytale castle with glittering spires and pretty turrets and which, thrillingly, once belonging to German Royalty. Indeed one of King Ludwig II’s castles – Neuschwanstein – was actually used to model the Disney version of Sleeping Beauty’s palace. There are more than 20,000 castles in Germany, most more than a century old.

For auto enthusiasts

For thrills galore head out onto the motorway or Autobahn. Yes, really. Reason is there’s NO SPEEDLIMIT. This seems strange for the European’s and American’s amongst us. But believe it, it’s true. You can go speeds of up to 300mph (and most BMW’s can) without fear of a flashing blue light descending on you.

While we’re on the subject of cars, BMW Welt (translates as ‘BMW World’) is quite simply stunning – for the design of the building alone, never mind the breathtaking exhibits. The massive 800 kilowatt solar roof panel on the huge hall gives the space a bit of an indoors/outdoors surreal experience. There’s all the latest in motor technology displayed within touching distance (indeed for most of them you can touch – even if furtively). Basically it’s a glimpse into automobile perfection.

Of course you have to have money to be able to afford a BMW and Munich is indeed a city of affluence. The envious may even say smugness. But a lot of that is attributed to its football team – the world-class Bayern Munich. I don’t follow football and even I’ve heard of this modern-day Super Team which ruled world football in the mid-1970s after winning the European Cup three times in succession, thanks to former player and footballing legend Franz Beckenbauer.

Glockenspiels and Churches

Almost Grimms fairytale like is the Glockenspiel belonging to the Marienplatz in the Bavarian capital’s New Town Hall. Between March and October the little figures on this huge clock dance their way around their two storey clock theatre three times a day and are well worth a visit.

The catholic Asamkirche – or St John Nepomuk Church – is second only in elaborate architecture (Baroque) to Rome’s Sistine Chapel, no less. No tourist is ever disappointed paying a visit to this spectacle of gilt, exquisite painting and opulence.

And then there’s the beer…

Ok, we can’t talk about Munich without mentioning beer at some point. One all-year-round attraction (and indeed there are many local regulars) is the Hofbrauhaus. This gorgeous, historical hostelry has been in existence from as far back as 1644!

It provides traditional German entertainment in the finest sense. At the Hofbrauhaus you can sip your beer, enjoying live music, while seated at a table which has played host to brewery visitors for more than a century. Not only that but you’re encouraged to carve your initials on the table!

The actual brewery and beer itself was founded by Wilhelm V Duke of Bavaria who didn’t like the stuff on offer at the time. Today’s brewery has a locked glass cabinet on display where locals store their own individual beer glasses (or Stein’s) ready to be used on their next visit.

This post is courtesy of Holiday Inn Meetings. Find the perfect conference rooms (Konferenzräume) in Munich with Holiday Inn Meetings – we’ve thought of every little thing.

More fun in Munich

The latest dirndl fashions in Munich
Visiting the Munich Christmas Markets – podcast
Empty splendour in the Residenz palace in Munich

Photo credits:  Deutsches Museum by Alf Igel, Neuschwanstin Castle by mwacker69, BMW Welt by To Uncertainty And Beyond, New Town Hall by Mr G’s Travels, Macabre at Asamkirche by theqspeaks, and Hofbrauhaus by cmozz

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com – Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

You’ll also find our sister blog with tips on how to build a successful travel blog at My Blogging Journey

Don’t miss out – subscribe to Heather on her travels

Happy Christmas from Heather on her travels

I wish a very Happy Christmas and holiday season to all readers of Heather on her travels and my friends around the blogsphere.

I’ll be spending Christmas with my family and hope that you will also be enjoying a relaxing time with those you care for most.

Peace and love to all the peoples of the world and happy travels in 2012

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